1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an automotive door lock device, and more particularly, to an automotive door lock device incorporated with an electric door closure, through which the automotive door can be shifted from a half-latch position to a full-latch position by electric power. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with the automotive door locks of a type which is equipped with a half-latch position detector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is known, an electric door closure is a device which, with an aid of a door lock device, shifts an automotive slide door from a half-latch position to a full-latch position by electric power. In practical use, upon sensing the half-latch condition of the slide door wherein a latch plate of the door lock device is incompletely engaged with a striker, the electric door closure is energized. With this, the door closure forces the latch plate to pivot to its full-latch position causing the slide door to take a fully closed latched position relative to a door opening of the vehicle body. For detecting the half-latch condition of the slide door, a half-latch detector is commonly used.
FIG. 11 shows a conventional half-latch detector incorporated with a door lock device. The half-latch detector comprises a detecting switch "B" which senses a movement of an open lever "A" of the door lock device. The open lever "A" is integrally connected with a pivotal pawl member which is engageable with a pivotal latch plate of the lock device. That is, when the pawl member is engaged with the latch plate to retain the same in a half-latch or full-latch position, the open lever "A" assumes an engaging position as shown by a phantom line "A1", while, when the pawl member is disengaged from the latch plate to leave the same at an open position, the open lever "A" assumes a release position as shown by a solid line "A2". By sensing the movement of the open lever "A" to the engaging position "A1" from the release position "A2", the detecting switch "B" detects the half-latch condition of the slide door. More specifically, when, due to the closing movement of the slide door, the latch plate is brought into engagement with the striker and thus pivoted by the same to the half-latch position causing the open lever "A" to take the engaging position "A1", a detector pin of the detecting switch "B" is pushed by the open lever "A" to turn the switch "B" ON. With this ON operation, the half-latch condition of the slide door is detected.
However, the conventional half-latch detector has the following drawback.
That is, due to the inherent construction of the door lock device, the open lever "A" is forced to assume the engaging position "A1" also when the pawl member is engaged with the latch plate in the full-latch position. In other words, the engaging position "A1" of the open lever "A" is established in both a case wherein the latch plate assumes the half-latch position and the other case wherein the latch plate assumes the full-latch position. Thus, if, due to application of a stronger force, the slide door is rushingly moved in a closing direction causing the latch plate to instantly take the full-latch position passing through the half-latch position, the detecting switch "B" fails to detect the half-latch condition of the door.